Beaupre
Encyclopedia
Beaupre is a primarily Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 family that lives mostly in northern New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 and Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

.

The history of the Beaupre family can be accurately traced to about AD 1045 to 1050. Ancestors of this family may well have fought in the Battle of Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...

 in 1066, when Duke William the Conqueror of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

 defeated King Harold of England, making himself King of England, yet still only the Duke of Normandy
Duke of Normandy
The Duke of Normandy is the title of the reigning monarch of the British Crown Dependancies of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey. The title traces its roots to the Duchy of Normandy . Whether the reigning sovereign is a male or female, they are always titled as the "Duke of...

. The current age of the Beaupre family name is approximately 960 years.

One ancient pedigree is that of Sir Edmonde Beaupre of Beaupre Hall
Beaupré Hall
Beaupré Hall was a large 16th century house mainly of brick, which was built by the Beaupres in Outwell, Norfolk, England and enlarged by their successors the Bells. - shown on this . like many of Britains's country houses it was demolished in the mid-twentieth century.-History of the Hall:The...

, Outwell/Upwell, Norfolk, he is descended from:
  1. Senulph Tempore H.2. apud Lyn Epi' in Norfolk
  2. Robert fitz Senulf de Lyn
  3. Warren fitz Rob. de Lyn
  4. Gilbert fitz Warren de Lyn m. Richell dau. of Ernald Bardwell
  5. John fitz Gilberti m. Christian dau. & co-heir of Sir Thomas St Omer, knight, Lord of Well in Norfolk
  6. Richard le fitz John le fitz Gilbert dicte quoqe Beawpre m. Katherine dau. of Osbert Mountfort, Regis King Edward II
  7. Sir Thomas Beaupre, knight d. during the reign of King Richard II m. Joane dau. of Richard Holbiech of Lincolnshire
  8. Nicholas Beaupre m. Margaret dau. of Richard Holbiech
  9. Thomas Beaupre m. Margaret dau.of John Meeres of Lincolnshire
    Lincolnshire
    Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

  10. Thomas Beaupre m. Margaret dau. of Robert Ashfield of Stow Langtofte in Suffolk, during the reign of King Edward IV
  11. Nicholas Beaupre m. Margaret eldest dau. & co-heir of Thomas Foderinghay, Lord of South Acre, Alderford & Dorewards Hall in Bocking
    Braintree, Essex
    Braintree is a town of about 42,000 people and the principal settlement of the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England. It is northeast of Chelmsford and west of Colchester on the River Blackwater, A120 road and a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line.Braintree has grown contiguous...

     Essex
    Essex
    Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

    . His other dau. Christian Foderinghay, m. John de Vere the 15th Earl of Oxford
    Earl of Oxford
    Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, held for several centuries by the de Vere family from 1141 until the death of the 20th earl in 1703. The Veres were also hereditary holders of the office of master or Lord Great Chamberlain from 1133 until the death of the 18th Earl in 1625...

    .
  12. Edmonde Beaupre m. 1. Margery dau. of Sir John Wiseman 2. Katherine dau. of Phillip Bedingfield
    Bedingfield
    Bedingfield is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England....

    , a relative of Sir Henry Bedingfield.


Edmonde Beaupre of Beaupre Hall
Beaupré Hall
Beaupré Hall was a large 16th century house mainly of brick, which was built by the Beaupres in Outwell, Norfolk, England and enlarged by their successors the Bells. - shown on this . like many of Britains's country houses it was demolished in the mid-twentieth century.-History of the Hall:The...

, was the last of the male line of his Beaupre family. By his wife Katherine, he had one daughter, Dorothy, who m.
  1. Sir Robert Bell d. 1577, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer
    Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer
    The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" of the English Exchequer of pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who presided in the equity court and answered the bar i.e...

  2. Sir John Peyton
    Sir John Peyton
    Sir John Peyton was an English soldier, MP and administrator.He was born in Knowlton, Kent to John Peyton and Dorothy Peyton, who was the daughter of John Tyndale....

    , Lieutenant of the Tower of London
    Tower of London
    Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

    .


Eventually, members of the Beaupre family moved to Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 to a town now known as Beaupre. Ste. Anne's Cathedral is located there.

Gradually the Beaupre family has moved down to New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. This is considered by much of the family to be the 'home area' although parts of the family have also moved to (Biloxi, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

), Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

, York, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

 and to both Wolfe Island
Wolfe Island
Wolfe Island may refer to:*in Canada,**Wolfe Island , near Kingston, in Lake Ontario**Wolfe Island , near Nova Scotia, in the Atlantic Ocean...

, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 and Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

; Chiemsee, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

; the Dakotas; Heerlen, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

; and even Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

, during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Others have moved down to Michigan from Quebec around the middle 19th century.

The Beaupre family has recently mixed with the German Kilian family, which has ancestors who lived in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 and possibly even Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

.

Beauprés in England

A completely separate Beaupre (Beaupré) family existed in the Nancy area of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in the 17th century and later moved to Besançon
Besançon
Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...

. A member of the family moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in 1824 in the service of George Canning
George Canning
George Canning PC, FRS was a British statesman and politician who served as Foreign Secretary and briefly Prime Minister.-Early life: 1770–1793:...

 as chef and interpreter. While the family is no longer in France they remain in England with members in Wellington, Somerset
Wellington, Somerset
Wellington is a small industrial town in rural Somerset, England, situated south west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district, near the border with Devon, which runs along the Blackdown Hills to the south of the town...

, Whitstable
Whitstable
Whitstable is a seaside town in Northeast Kent, Southeast England. It is approximately north of the city of Canterbury and approximately west of the seaside town of Herne Bay. It is part of the City of Canterbury district and has a population of about 30,000.Whitstable is famous for its oysters,...

 in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, parts of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and elsewhere. Information about this family was collated by the late Frederick Beaupré Higgs, and is held by Robert Beaupré http://www.foxdown.co.uk.

Beaupré was a name with ecclesiastical connections in the early Middle Ages. A priory with the name existed in South Wales, and monks moving into the community took the name with them so that it appears (as a surname) on church lists of vicars from the 12th and 13th centuries, especially in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

 and Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

.

The name Bonhomme dis Beaupré was also in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

 during the 16th century. Here a hall and a school both retain Beaupre in their names.

Louisiana

This name has been passed down to generations, and is used in Saint Charles Parish, Louisiana, during crawfish season to describe how the crawfish season is going. However the full name is 'Bonhomme du Beaupre', which is French for 'Good Man of the Beautiful Prairie'. The name was shortened to simply 'Beaupre' after a few generations, most likely due to difficulties in writing or pronouncing such a long name.

Sources

  • The Visitations of Norfolk, 1563, 1589, and 1613, Harl. 1552.
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